Elisabeth identifies a fine point in her reply to my original question which is, perhaps the Michelangelos, Boschs and Rembrandts of today are actually working in other more popular mediums of expression, like film. I like this train of thought. It certainly isn’t a stretch to think that someone of Da Vinci’s talent and knack for invention, that if he were alive today wouldn’t have made a few films himself. Michelangelo most certainly would have. So, if this is the case, then of course it’s allowed those gatekeeper positions to be filled with the uninspired, the morbid and the depraved. Artists and their admirers who buck the tradition and lash out for shock’s value.
After an in-person conversation last night at a social meet-up of Los Angeles SCC contributors (yes, it happens) on this same topic, our resident comic strip artist Francesca Parise sent me another name to go along with the ones Elisabeth mentioned – Joseph Lorusso of Missouri. One look at the painting Soft Eyes (below) was enough for me to immediately put asise what I was doing and look through his entire portfolio. I’m grateful to my colleagues for sharing and I encourage all of us to support these types of artists who compel us to ponder, study and marvel at how and what they capture of life.
